Srinagar: 

Starring Emraan Hashmi, the action-thriller movie was shot extensively in the Valley, mainly in north Kashmir. The grand screening at INOX Srinagar drew a host of security forces officers of Border Security Forces, J&K Police and prominent people from the Valley alongside the film's cast and crew team. The movie will hit the theatres on April 25.

Against the backdrop of Zabarwan hills with glowing lights casting shadows over Dal Lake, Kashmir played host to a rare cinematic event, hosting the first red carpet premiere of Ground Zero in nearly four decades on Friday. Hashmi, who alongside his team arrived in Srinagar on Friday morning, led the high-profile premiere, describing it as an 'emotional' and a 'symbolic' moment. The Bollywood actor is playing the role of a military officer in the movie. He said the movie is inspired by true events and is based on the covert mission by Border Security Forces to eliminate the terrorist outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad from the Valley in 2001.

"I am playing the role of the military officer in the movie," he said alongside producer Farhan Akhtar and Sai Tamhankar, who is playing the role of a BSF officer's wife. Emraan Hashmi's role, which is seen as a departure from his usual romantic ones, drew applause from many with a senior police officer describing it 'extraordinary' in the face of the actor's larger image.

The film is the true portrayal of the big operation tracking the mastermind who was responsible for many attacks, and Hashmi has justified the role, he added.

In Ground Zero, he plays the role of BSF deputy commandant Narendra Nath Dubey, who spearheads the mission to pin down Gazi Baba, the mastermind of the Indian Parliament attack in 2001 and the Akshardham temple in Gujarat in September 2002. The Jaish chief was hunted down by BSF in the congested Srinagar downtown neighbourhood in 2003, leaving the terror group gasping for survival. It earned Dubey Kirti Chakra from the then President APJ Abdul Kalam in 2005.

"It is a big day that the red carpet premiere event is held in Srinagar after 38 years," Hashmi added.

Directed by Tejas Deoskar, Ground Zero is co-produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani's Excel Entertainment. A senior crew member revealed Hashmi was 'excited' from the outset about taking the role. "Everyone was convinced Hashmi would fit there," he said. "The movie cuts across the ages, and Hashmi’s performance is expected to draw a huge response."

After the glittering premiere, the producers have set huge expectations for April 25, when it is slated for nationwide release.

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